The Environmental Beautification Project (2)
Selin accepted the boots and clothes being distributed by the soldiers, her son Jean standing beside her.
These were not the usual water-absorbent fabric, but expensive rubber boots paired with a leather suit that combined pants and top into one piece.
Fuck... Just as I thought.
Selin and the others grimaced at the sight. They hadn't truly believed the posters claiming the work would be safe... but they had still clung to a sliver of hope.
None of them had known what "environmental beautification" meant at first, but now it was painfully clear to everyone.
They were being sent out to subjugate goblins—!!
Goblins were originally weak creatures that wielded nothing but crude wooden clubs.
There was no reason to issue them armor or shields.
Had it been winter, they would have been given thick padded clothes and sent out as disposable meat shields. But this was early summer, with the weather already turning warm.
Leather gear offering moderate defense was more than enough.
They should have been suspicious of wages that seemed far too generous.
Selin regretted it now, but it was already too late.
If she told the soldiers—whose eyes gleamed with menace—that she wanted to quit, those spears would immediately turn on them.
And behind the soldiers stood a beastman in silver-white armor that reflected the sunlight, watching the crowd.
That was none other than Knight Commander Leona.
Selin abandoned any thought of running away.
With knights present, simply attempting to flee could get her summarily executed. Besides, she had already received two silver coins in advance.
The leather boots and suit should at least protect her from serious injury. The goblins' clubs would likely only leave bruises.
It would have been nice if they'd at least issued weapons... The rumors about the territory's poor finances seemed to be true. Just in case, Selin touched the small dagger she'd tucked into her cleavage and steeled her resolve.
After Selin had finished preparing herself mentally...
It didn't take long for her to realize her resolve had been completely unnecessary.
"They're really giving us another two silver just for this...?"
"Mom, I'm heading out again!"
"Alright. Don't trip."
It was nothing more than the simple task of cleaning filth from the streets.
Just for doing this, they were paying enough to support her struggling children...?
Of course the work was difficult. Scooping up filth with shovels, dumping it into buckets, and hauling them away was undeniably exhausting labor.
But these were people who couldn't find normal work.
Even when they had mistakenly believed this was a goblin subjugation mission and gone out as meat shields, the pay was often only two or three silver.
Timid goblins had a habit of fleeing at the first sign of strong resistance. That made the role of meat shields crucial—they had to endure the blows and buy time for the encirclement to form.
Because of that, goblin subjugation was dangerous work. A weak body or a blow to a bad spot often resulted in broken bones or death.
Such difficult and perilous work paid a mere two or three silver.
How much could other jobs possibly offer?
By comparison, the people found this so-called environmental beautification work incredibly appealing.
They were going to let them do this for months on end—!!
Smiles bloomed across their faces.
"I really can't understand what the lord is thinking. Streets being covered in shit and piss is only natural. Why spend money to clean it up?"
Work inevitably led to boredom.
Perhaps that was why.
Someone blurted out a pointless comment. In his mind, he probably just wanted to chat and forget the hardship of the labor. To the soldiers, however, it was unacceptable.
"Hey. What the hell did you just say? Got a complaint, do you?"
"N-no, sir."
Thud!
At the soldier's words as he gripped his spear, the commoner who had spoken out of turn had no choice but to immediately throw himself face-down onto the filth-covered ground.
With only one arm, if he lost this job he would have to abandon the young daughter waiting at home.
So watching the soldiers' moods was only natural. If they decided he was slacking and told him not to return tomorrow, he would regret his foul mouth for the rest of his life.
"Tsk. Get up. Watch yourself from now on."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Fortunately the soldiers simply hauled the man to his feet without further comment.
"What's going on over there?"
"Loyalty! It's nothing, sir. This ignorant fool dared to question the department head's work, so I merely issued a warning."
It was at that exact moment.
The soldier, caught patrolling the cleaning effort by Alpha himself, froze in terror.
The man before him had risen from the role of official breeder all the way to department head.
He had even built a cooperative relationship with the knights—so much so that Knight Commander Leona herself was assisting with this bizarre environmental beautification project that seemed strange even to the soldier.
"Hmm. You've all worked hard. Elisa. Could I trouble you for some water?"
"Water."
⟨ Water ⟩
Alpha spoke to Elisa as if issuing a command to a subordinate.
Yet Elisa showed no sign of discomfort and simply created water in the air with her magic.
"Over here."
"S-sorry! I'm sorry!!"
"Hold your breath..."
A mass of water the size of a human head floated in the air.
The man, already face-down and covered in filth, kept apologizing profusely. Alpha ignored him, grabbed the back of his head, and slowly pushed his face into the water.
"T-to that extent..."
"D-don't make eye contact, everyone. We could be next..."
The crowd decided that the man called Alpha must be insanely cruel.
"Department Head! Surely even this ignorant fool has understood your will by now! Please show him mercy just this once!"
Witnessing the scene, the soldier bowed his head and begged Alpha for forgiveness.
He had only been warning someone who was complaining. Now, because of that, a man was going to die—forced face-first into water, unable to breathe. A truly horrific method.
It would certainly haunt his dreams tonight.
"Shut your mouth. How dare these worm-like bastards talk behind my back? You're next."
Apparently displeased by the soldier's attitude, Elisa immediately bound him with magic.
What the hell. She's completely lost it.
No matter how outstanding she was, Alpha was still a man from modern times.
He simply couldn't understand medieval sensibilities.
He had only wanted to wash the filth from the man's face. Left like that, there was no telling when he might catch a disease.
To Alpha, whose goal was to stabilize the territory quickly by minimizing plague infections, a face covered in filth was completely unacceptable.
"Elisa. That's enough. The soldier was only doing his duty."
"You... Consider your life spared thanks to the department head."
When Elisa released her binding spell, Alpha let out a small sigh and pulled the man's face from the water.
"I'm sorry! My lord! P-please spare me! I still have a daughter at home who hasn't even learned to speak yet!"
"Shut that filthy mouth! You worm bastard!"
Elisa, an exemplary noble by medieval standards, exploded with rage at the one-armed man.
Twitch...
Alpha's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Elisa. I told you to stop."
"...I, I was only..."
Originally, with Elisa's permission, she and Alpha would have stood on equal footing.
But at some point, Elisa had no choice but to constantly watch Alpha's mood.
It was because her body—after secretly visiting the breeding chamber again and again—now carried his marks all over it.
"Tsk."
"..."
Perhaps that was why.
Elisa couldn't utter a single word to Alpha as he clicked his tongue in clear displeasure.
"This water is dirty now, so dispose of it."
"Understood, Department Head."
Still believing Alpha had need of her, Elisa managed a small smile despite receiving what was essentially an order.
Splash—!
"Ah..."
But that smile didn't last long.
Alpha's face twisted when Elisa simply dropped the water droplet—now little more than a lump of filth after wiping the one-armed man's face—straight onto the ground.
She had just dirtied the street they had finished cleaning—!!
It was something Alpha's modern mind could not comprehend. It was like sprinkling pepper on a spot others had worked hard to clean!
"Elisa. From now on, dump it into the waste bucket."
"I'm sorry."
Faced with Alpha's overbearing attitude, Elisa chose to preserve what little pride she had left. She used "I'm sorry" rather than the more deferential "I apologize."
Ha... I'll have to train her to be as obedient as Helen.
Alpha, of course, saw right through her. He decided he needed to turn Elisa into a perfectly submissive female like Helen as soon as possible—obedient no matter where she was.
"Stay still."
"T-this is—!!"
"It's soap."
One warning was enough for Elisa's mistake.
To Alpha, the current matter was far more urgent than a female's minor error.
Simply rinsing with water wasn't enough to make it clean. Only by using soap to remove bacteria and viruses could it truly be considered sanitized.
Alpha carefully wiped the man's face.
His clothes were dirty too, but since the leather suit had been made with that expectation in mind, Alpha ignored it.
"Elisa. Water."
"Water."
⟨ Water ⟩
Elisa created another large water droplet, her expression slightly pouty.
Ha! If only it were a woman...
If the person he was currently washing had been female, he might have killed her on the spot.
"All done."
"Th-thank you."
"From now on, don't dirty your face. You'll catch something."
"Yes! Thank you, my lord!"
After washing the man's face, Alpha turned and walked away. The area currently undergoing environmental beautification was vast.
To check for problems, Alpha himself had to move diligently.
"Gasp! He used that expensive soap?"
"The high-ranking department head washed his face personally!"
"And he even had the mage create the water!"
The crowd was once again stunned by the sight of Alpha personally cleaning the filthy face.
The department head was a lofty figure they could barely meet eyes with.
Even though the other party was a commoner, their stations were worlds apart.
Yet such a man had personally wiped his face—!!
People began to wonder if they were dreaming.
"What are you all standing around for? Get back to work! Do you mean to betray the department head's grace?!"
The soldier, scolded by Elisa, snapped at the dazed crowd. Only then did the people resume cleaning the filth from the streets.